Text 22250, 114 rader
Skriven 2009-03-23 14:40:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: Food Quiz etc 383
=========================
 ML> I'm a good mix of equal b, c, and d,
 ML> I am a C or D in some of these regards on a daily basis.
 JW> I think most of us here are.  

Funny thing is that the person writing the quiz
apparently thought that C and D were generally
outlandish choices.

 JW> Opening the fridge, you're most proud of your collection of:
 JW> (d) home-rendered fats.
 ML> What's so D-ish about that?
 JW> We all save drippings but not so many of us render huge slabs of fat
 JW> from scratch in a cauldron before french fry some potatoes.

Truth, I've only done that a couple of times. There have
in fact been only a handful of times when I have generated
more cracklings than I could eat. Did you see the recent
fried chicken skin entry on thisiswhyyourefat.com? 

=
 JW> It seems she lives on the hippy infested Salt Spring Island in
 JW> Vancouver Island's temperate Georgia Strait and only visits the
 JW> north.

Ah. I didn't do either of those things but attended the
performance of Deanna Talens, the national solo competition
winner, instead. 

 JW> You could offer to do a workshop and get a free trip up here out of
 JW> her.

That was thought of.

--mm
Boeuf a la Ficelle (Poached Tenderloin of Beef)
Cat: Washington, beef, main
Servings: 4

1 1/2 lb piece beef tenderloin,
- trimmed of visible fat
- and neatly tied at intervals
4 c veal or beef stock or water
2 md carrots
1/2 stalk celery
1 sm onion, peeled and halved
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
1/2 ts whole black peppercorns
salt

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- for the meat

Remove the meat from the refrigerator an hour or so before
cooking. Choose a pan that is heavy and just large enough
to hold the meat snugly, without a lot of spare room on
the sides. It should also be deep enough for the meat to
be comfortably submerged in the liquid. As a dry -- er,
wet -- run, check the pan size in advance by placing
the meat in the pan and, using a measuring cup, note the
amount of cold water it takes to cover the meat by a good
half-inch. (In my pan, it took a little more than 4 cups.)
Remove the meat and set aside; discard the water. If you
plan to use stock and don't have quite enough, just make
up the difference with water. (I don't recommend using
canned broth for this recipe.)

Place the pan over medium-high heat and add the appropriate
amount of stock or water along with the carrots, celery,
onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, clove and
peppercorns (add salt only if you are using water). Bring
the liquid to a simmer. If using water rather than stock,
simmer the water and vegetables for 10 or 15 minutes before
adding the meat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the
meat. Return the liquid to a very gentle simmer, then lower
the heat to very low. The surface of the liquid should
barely quiver. Poach the meat until the internal
temperature registers just under 120 degrees, 15 to 25
minutes from when you added the meat to the simmering
poaching liquid. Be careful not to overcook. Begin checking
the temperature after 10 minutes just so you know where
things stand (remember Julia Child's observation that once
the temperature hits 100 degrees, it begins to rise more
quickly). Transfer the meat to a plate, cover loosely with
foil and let it rest in a warm place for at least 5 minutes
while you adjust the seasoning of the poaching liquid.

Strain the poaching liquid, discarding the solids. If you
used water, taste the resulting liquid; it will be
surprisingly delicious and will probably not require any
more salt, but make any necessary adjustments. If you used
stock, you may or may not need to add a touch of kosher
salt, but add it only to the small quantity of the poaching
liquid to be served with the beef, about 1/2 c in total:
this will keep the remaining liquid fairly neutral (though
now enriched from poaching the meat) for subsequent use.

To serve, remove and discard the strings from the meat.
Carve the meat into 1/2-inch-thick slices. The end pieces
may seem overdone, but the remainder of the beef will
be beautifully pink. Sprinkle each piece with a little
sea salt and a tiny bit of pepper and transfer to warmed,
fairly deep plates. Spoon a couple of Tb of poaching
liquid around the meat.

Edward Schneider, Washington Post, March 6, 2002

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